She Called Him Bread Head
by Inuzuka-93
Summary: Set after the events of the Cursed Child. Albus meets with his father to talk and stitch a few wounds in their relationship and, upon returning to Hogwarts, he confronts an unfamiliar feeling towards his best friend. Oneshot.


She Called Him Bread Head

Albus and Scorpius stood upon the enchanted staircase between the 3rd and 4th floors. They were waiting on it moving downward in its habitual manner, but it seemed to be playing up today – not that they particularly minded, it was their last day of normality before McGonagall's year-long detentions would be put into action. Scorpius was leaning, on his elbows, against the marble bannister grinning like an idiot. He had just asked out Rose, Albus's know-it-all cousin. She had turned him down, but he did not seem too disheartened by the fact.

"She called me bread head! And did you see the look on her face?" he questioned proudly. "Pity." Albus guffawed and punched Scorpius playfully on the shoulder – he couldn't fault his best mate's optimism. "You know how it is," he continued, buffing his nails against the front of his robes, "first pity, then marriage." The Staircase shuddered beneath their feet as it finally began its slow descent to the ground floor. "Are you coming to breakfast?" asked Scorpius once they had made it to the great hall.

Albus shook his head, "My dad is up, he's asked me to go for a walk with him, he's wanting to _bond_ ," he shuddered in false disgust. "I think I'm going to go." He looked away, suddenly embarrassed by how much he wanted to see his dad, but Scorpius simply nodded in understanding – no judgement from him. "I'll catch up with you afterward, though."

Albus made his way to the grounds and met his father halfway, just past the pumpkin patches. They shared an awkward hug – the recent events making the action seem less forced than it normally would have been and Albus tried to allow as many of his feelings to transpire in his silent compliance. Their relationship was the best it had been in a long time but the broken bridge between them was far from fully functioning yet, but it seemed that it was what they were both wanting, and, with time, it would return to what it had once been.

"We destroyed the time turner this time," said Harry as he led his son from the school grounds, a light dusting of snow coated the cobbled roads and began to crunch gently underfoot. "So, there's no chance of anything like this happening again – it was foolish of us to keep it the first one," he hesitated, "I'm sorry that our actions put you and Scorpius in danger…"

"Dad," groaned Albus, his stomach twisting in knots at his father's unwarranted guilt, knowing fully that he and Scorpius were responsible for their own actions, "you don't have to apologise, me and Scorpius should never have tried to bring Cedric back, it was _my_ fault."

"I won't deny that what you did was wrong," agreed Harry, pausing to direct Albus towards a lane which led away from Hogsmeade, Albus complied, confused about where they were going, "but I can't fault your reasons. You once asked me how many people had to die for the boy who lived. I know you were angry," he held up his hand to silence Albus's protest before he could begin, "but you were right to ask. It's something I think about every day: so many people gave up their lives for me, because they believed in what I was doing. Take my arm."

Albus obliged, gripped onto his father's bicep and within a few seconds he felt like he was being compressed and squeezed through a tight tube and, when his feet felt solid ground beneath them again, he buckled over and retched, but his stomach was empty and the episode was short-lived. When he straightened up again, he saw that they were in a graveyard on a small hill in the countryside which he recognised to be near the Burrow where his grandparents lived. "Dad," asked Albus, "where are we?"

"Take a look," said Harry, nodding to one of the grave stones. When Albus saw it, he felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end: they were stood in front of Cedric Diggory's grave. "I often come here to reflect. The world would not know the sort of peace we live in if it weren't for the bravery of people like Cedric and we need to honour their sacrifices by living in the world they died to create." They stood in silence for a few moments and Albus felt the closest to his dad that he had felt since he was a child.

"I watched them you know," said Albus after a few moments. "Your parents. When me and Scorpius were stuck in the past, waiting, I saw them around you and I think you would have really liked them. Your dad used to do this thing with his wand when you were in your pram," his breath caught in his throat as he recalled the memory from the night his grandparents had been murdered, "and you went crazy for it."

Harry laughed and put his arm around Albus's shoulder gratefully. "Thank you, Albus," said Harry, his grip on his son tightening for a moment before releasing him. "I'm sure they would have loved you."

"I'll never be like James," said Albus suddenly filling the quiet ambience between them. "I'll never have as much in common with you as he does."

"James is nothing like me," answered Harry almost instantly, "everything comes easy to James. I would never have got where I am if it weren't for all the help I had."

"So," began Albus, taking stock of his father in the early morning light as if he were just seeing him for the first time, "are you saying I'm like you, then?"

"No," said Harry, "you're like your mum. You've got my eyes but it's the fire from hers that burns behind them. You're kind and passionate like her, and I'd go as far as to say you're as stubborn as her too." He ruffled Albus's hair and the boy couldn't hold back the grin that was spreading across his cold face. He put his arm around his father's waist and turned to watch the sunrise. "You know, Albus," said Harry, returning his own arm to his son's shoulder and pulling him close, "I think it's going to be a nice day."

"Me too, dad," agreed Albus, he enjoyed the moment with his father and was hopeful that the nasty business with Delphini would stay behind them and all the misery that had transpired over the last few years would dissipate for good. "Scorpius asked Rose out today."

"Did he?" laughed Harry. "That was bold of him. And what did Rose say to that?"

"She said no," replied Albus flatly, "but Scorpius thinks she'll come around eventually."

"If he's anything like his dad," replied Harry, "he won't give up any time soon. How would you feel about it if they did start going out?"

"I don't know," replied Albus, though the thought had crossed his mind. He had decided that he definitely did not like the idea of Rose and Scorpius being together, the image filled his belly with dread and confusion but he felt that it was something his dad didn't need to know just yet. "I'm sure I would get used to it," he lied.

"Did I ever tell you how I felt when I thought your Uncle Ron and Aunt Hermione had first got together?" asked Harry. Albus shook his head. "I was jealous, and I thought that everything would change and I would be alone."

"And did it?" asked Albus.

"Yes," replied Harry shortly. "But it wasn't a bad change. What I'm trying to get across here, is that it's not change that we fear, it's the unknown." He paused for a moment. "At any rate, I don't think you have to worry about Rose and Scorpius any time soon. You're all still so young and have so much still to figure out and, like you said, Rose isn't interested right now, is she?"

"She called him bread head," offered Albus, it had been something that had sent chills down his spine, but having repeated it out loud, he realised after the words had left his lips that it didn't really make any difference, that this argument was not one that would make any sense or have any relevance to a grown up like his father.

"I'll owl your Uncle Ron right away and let him know his grandchildren will be Malfoys," replied Harry sarcastically with a wink. "I suppose I should get you back to Hogwarts before McGonagall tries to give me another detention."

"Okay," agreed Albus, still not convinced that he wasn't about to lose his best friend to Rose. When he thought about them together, it felt like he had received a diagnosis of some terminal illness and had been given days left to live with his life still so full of unaccomplished goals. "I wanted to ask," continued Albus, "before we go, have you heard anything more about Voldemort's followers? You know, like the giants and the werewolves? I know we've stopped Delphini but have any of them resurfaced?"

Harry hesitated before smiling. "That is for me to worry about," he grinned. "All you should think about is passing your exams and keeping your nose clean."

Unsatisfied with the answer but unwilling to start an argument after making such progress, Albus accepted his father's response and allowed himself to be escorted back to Hogwarts. They took a detour by Hogsmeade, where Harry restocked Albus and Scorpius's sweet supply provided that Albus didn't tell James, Lily or his mother. He bade his father farewell at the school doors and gave the great hall a quick sweep for Scorpius, but his light blond head was nowhere to be seen. He then checked the common room and the dormitory but finally found him in the library poring over a giant, dusty tome in which the text was so faded, his nose almost touched the page as he tried to make out the words. He took a moment to take in the sight and he wondered if there was anyone else in the world he could ever care for as much as he cared for Scorpius. Creeping up behind him, Albus slipped a chocolate frog onto the desk and watched as the boy's gaze immediately transferred from the book to the confectionery, then to Albus who was now sliding into the adjacent seat.

"What are we reading?" asked Albus as he began to unwrap his own chocolate frog. Scorpius sat up, grinning and happily accepting his share of the sweets. He was reading a medieval transcription of an ancient witch-hunter's diary which he went on to animatedly describe in chilling detail with a passion that went unmatched in anyone who wasn't Scorpius. "Cool," agreed Albus and he scooched closer so they could both destroy their eyesight on the almost invisible writing together.

"How did things go with your dad?" asked Scorpius after a few moments of pretending to take in the text. "You didn't have another row, I take it?"

"Nope," replied Albus. "I think everything is going to be fine. I'm guessing you've gotten no further forward with Rose since I've been away?"

"She waved at me at breakfast," said Scorpius excitedly. "Except that Polly Chapman was behind me and she was actually waving at her." He perked up again as he added, "But she didn't look away in disgust when I waved back at her. She pointed it out to all her friends and they all laughed but she definitely wasn't disgusted this time."

"Way to go, _Scorpion King_ ," laughed Albus, receiving a nudge in the ribs from Scorpius. Albus countered the nudge with a jab in the stomach which turned into a raucous play-fight that almost saw them removed from the library by Madame Pince who, despite now being completely deaf, knew they were making a racket. "So, what will I do when this plan of yours sees you marrying my cousin? How will I go on without you?" he swooned dramatically but kept his gaze on Scorpius to catch any reaction the other boy might betray.

"What's a king without a mistress?" grinned Scorpius, flirting back light-heartedly and Albus was caught off guard. He laughed but he could feel colour creeping onto his cheeks and he could only pray that it hadn't been noticeable. "Really though," said Scorpius, taking a serious tone, "no girl will come between us. Then again, that depends on how old she is," he continued with a smirk, "you do have a thing for older women, don't you?"

"Oh, ha ha," retorted Albus suddenly aware of an urge he had never felt before to seem available and make it clear to Scorpius that he had no interest in anyone, "Delphi wasn't much older than us and I don't have a thing for older women. I think I'll be staying away from all women for a while after that one."

"I guess fancying your dad's nemesis's daughter would put you off anything," agreed Scorpius.

"You do realise your dad and Rose's dad were basically nemesises – nemesiseses…"

"I think it's 'nemeses'," replied Scorpius.

"Geek," answered Albus and this time when Scorpius grinned at him, he felt a strange rush through his body, radiating from the pit of his stomach and extending to the tips of his fingers and culminated in the overwhelming urge to hug his best friend and let him know how much he meant to him. Maybe he wasn't thrilled that Scorpius was so obsessed with Rose but, his dad had been right about one thing, they still had all the time in the world to figure it out.


End file.
